Chip index falls 12% and Nasdaq 100 sheds $2.3T after midterm sell-off
On Thursday, November 5, 2026, the Nasdaq 100 fell 6.4%, erasing about $2.3 trillion in market value in the largest one-day decline the index has recorded, according to Bloomberg. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index dropped about 12% to close near 9,011, its steepest session since March 2020. The wider market fell as well: the S&P 500 lost about 4.4% and the Dow shed roughly 1,833 points, or 3.4%. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.5%, confirming a correction more than 10% below its October 6 record close.
Nvidia fell about 9.3%, shedding close to $450 billion and reaching a seven-month low more than 25% below its October 6 high. Qualcomm dropped about 9.5% after its outlook and smartphone chip sales disappointed. AMD fell 17% and Broadcom 10%, while neocloud CoreWeave slid for a second day. Asian markets followed overnight, with SoftBank down 10.83% in Tokyo and TSMC off 4.69% in Taiwan.
The selling reversed a Wednesday rally that had lifted the Nasdaq about 1.4% after the midterm results. Investors then priced in Democratic control of both chambers of Congress and several key governor races, which they read as tougher scrutiny of power-hungry data centers. Sen. Bernie Sanders has called for a national data-center moratorium.
Why it matters
For founders, the one-session repricing creates a fresh public benchmark. Public multiples for AI infrastructure fell sharply in a single day, and private investors often anchor new rounds to recent comparable companies. Teams raising in the coming weeks may face slower term sheets, lower valuations, or pressure to structure more of their capital as debt or milestone-based tranches. Compute-heavy bets are also repriced, since a plan that depends on cheap, fast data center capacity now carries policy risk around power and approvals.
Operators should stress test runway against a lower exit multiple and a longer path to liquidity. The practical test is simple: if the roadmap assumes capacity arrives on a fixed date, model a delay in approvals or power and check whether cash holds. Investors will likely separate companies with contracted demand from those whose growth assumes unlimited buildout. Founders who can show revenue that does not depend on new data center capacity will have an easier conversation.
Key points
- 1The Nasdaq 100 fell 6.4% on November 5, 2026, erasing about $2.3 trillion in market value.
- 2The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index closed down about 12%, its steepest one-day drop since March 2020.
- 3Nvidia fell about 9.3%, losing roughly $450 billion, while Qualcomm dropped about 9.5% on weak guidance.
- 4Investors linked the rout to Democrats winning both chambers of Congress and fearing slower AI data center construction.
